The Brazilian Place Equality Regime

This chapter examines the Brazilian regime of place equality, in which municipalities are fully in charge of social service provision. The analysis outlines national policies toward place equality and their effects on revenue and spending inequality among Brazilian municipalities in general as well as in five selected metropolitan regions. The chapter demonstrates that, although local governments possess an important role in the delivery of public policies in Brazil, as well as constitutionally protected local autonomy, local policies are implemented under moderate central government supervision. Shared revenues and conditional federal transfers sharply diminish the disparities among municipalities in their capacity to fund their own policies through self-generated revenues. Despite this effect from the Brazilian place equality regime, however, inequality among municipalities persists.